No First Amendment at Work

College campuses have long pushed a political agenda and tried to silence those who dare stray from the official dogma. Now some businesses are getting into the act. Any deviation from the party line can be grounds for dismissal. This is nothing new. Paula Deen lost her television show, publishing contracts and endorsements for admitting she had used the “N word” in the past. Any white southerner born in the 1940s would have heard that word every day.

Right now Google is the spotlight. Last month, a Google engineer named James Damore wrote a document criticizing the company’s political bias and diversity efforts. He claimed that biological issues, not gender discrimination, are the primary reason fewer women work in Silicon Valley. I have not been able to find the text but apparently he stated his support for diversity. Once they learned his identity, he was fired for promoting gender stereotypes.

Obviously a company has a right to fire someone who spreads hate or demeans fellow employees. However, that’s not what Damore did. He merely offered his opinion on the reasons for the job disparity. Clearly the difference between men and women is more than just physical. Of course those differences in no way disqualify anyone from a job for which they are qualified.

The Bill of Rights was proposed 228 years ago. It starts with some of our basic freedoms, including freedom. Let’s not throw it out in a misguided effort to increase tolerance.
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